Over three months after releasing 3.0.6, while work continues toward the upcoming v3.2, GIMP has introduced its fourth micro-update, GIMP 3.0.8, now available for download.
One of the most notable improvements is in font handling. Startup font loading has been accelerated, and several long-standing issues have been addressed. A special workaround was added for the Skia font family, which is common on macOS but behaved incorrectly under the new font system. GIMP now also waits for fonts to fully load before opening files, reducing rendering inconsistencies at launch.
Command-line behavior has been refined as well. The gimp-3.0 executable can now run with the --no-interface option even when no display server is available, making it usable in headless environments such as containers or virtual terminals.
On Windows, console integration has improved, with proper handling of Ctrl+C signals, support for colored output, and consistent message routing to the parent console. macOS users benefit from better emoji input thanks to a default switch to the Quartz input method.
On the Wayland side, there is a targeted fix that delays input device enumeration until the first surface is available, working around a known Wayland limitation and a GTK bug.
Additionally, several core editing issues were also resolved, including multiple undo bugs, Quick Mask problems, pass-through group layer behavior, and export failures when no drawable is selected. SVG path import and export have been improved, and backward compatibility with older XCF files has been strengthened.
Regarding UI, dialogs and headerbars now better respect themes and custom icon sizes, particularly in dark mode. Confusing hover outlines over inactive interface elements were removed, and layout inconsistencies in navigation and selection editors were corrected.
A large number of plugins were fixed in this release, including import and export support for formats such as PSD, TIFF, WebP, PDF, DDS, OpenRaster, and JPEG 2000. Script-Fu was optimized to avoid unnecessary UI initialization, improving its usability on systems without a display. Several security vulnerabilities affecting plugins were also addressed.
Finally, it’s worth noting some packaging updates. The Snap package now supports third-party binary plugins, Flatpak builds expose clearer version information, the Windows installer adds dark mode, and AppImage builds ship with full MIDI support.
Linux users eager to download this update immediately can do so directly from GIMP’s servers as an AppImage. Windows and macOS users can expect the new 3.0.8 version to be available within the next 24 hours, along with the official release announcement.
